Minnesota Energy Challenge

Posted January 2, 2007 * Comments(1)

I’m on various City of Minneapolis email lists, and I typically skim them over before sending them to the trash. Today’s update from Mayor Rybak caught my eye, given my earlier post about light bulbs. Maybe he’s a reader?

Anyway, from the newsletter:

Global climate change can’t be fought in isolation within the borders of Minneapolis, but I’m resolved that we collectively do much more than our part. We are moving ahead on our city-wide environmental sustainability plan that guides our aggressive work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the use of renewable energy sources, and my 2007 city budget adopted by the City Council includes new resources to ramp-up our efforts to directly engage the public on ways to help address climate change.

As a Minneapolis resident, you will be asked to do much more to reduce your energy consumption, but today I ask you to take one simple step towards that goal: this week change three of your light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs. If every household in the U.S. replaced just one light bulb with a compact fluorescent, it would equal the energy conservation of taking one million cars off the road. We all need to do much more, but in this first and possibly fleeting glimpse of a dramatically shortened winter, taking this one simple act together seems like the least we can do to protect this special place in which we are fortunate to live.

He also mentions a website, Minnesota’s Energy Challenge, where you can form teams and track your CO2 savings.

3 bulbs, that’s not so hard…

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1 Comment so far

  1. Jeremy Hanson on January 4th, 2007

    This is not the first time that Mayor Rybak has promoted CFLs or energy conservation. In fact, he and Mayor Coleman launched the Energy Challenge last October with a highly promoted press conference. Here is the news release on the campaign launch: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/mayor/news/20061013newsmayormplsstpenergychallenge.asp.
    This is part of a series of initiatives the City of Minneapolis is undertaking to reduce our energy use and expand the use of alternative energy sources. Thanks for helping to get the word out!